Xi urges restraint in North Korean conflict

Saturday, August 12, 2017 - 01:34

The North Korean nuclear issue needs a peaceful resolution, Chinese President Xi Jinping tells U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call, and calls on the ''relevant side'' to exercise restraint. Grace Lee reports.

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A cryptic plea from Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday (Aug 12), calling on the "relevant side" to exercise restraint when it comes to the Korean penninsula during a phone call with U.S. president Donald Trump.
According to state media, Xi emphasized a peaceful resolution in the North Korean conflict and said it was in the joint interest of both countries to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
The white house issuing a statement after the call, saying that the leaders agreed that North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behaviour.
This comes after Trump issued a new threat to the North on Friday (Aug 11), saying that the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" as Pyongyang accused him of driving the situation to the brink of nuclear war.
"Those words are very very easy to understand," he said.
The international community, including China, Russia and Germany, expressing alarm over the heated exchange.
Russia's foreign minister saying that Moscow is deeply worried about the threats by both sides.
"Unfortunately, the rhetoric in Washington and Pyongyang is now starting to go over the top. We hope that common sense will eventually prevail."
Meanwhile, the U.S. island of Guam posted emergency guidelines on Friday (Aug 11), to help residents prepare for any potential nuclear attack after a threat from North Korea to fire missiles close to its waters.
Trump, reassuring Guam's governor that things are under control:
"We're going to do a great job here, don't worry about a thing."
But that's little comfort for those who might be caught in the path of a military conflict.

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